Chapter 456: “Drifting Blood”

Inside the Chaos City, swirling currents of air danced around.

Luo Feng, wearing battle armor formed from Moyun Vine, stood atop a cultivation residence’s terrace, gazing at the numerous other cultivation dwellings in the distance. For the past eight days, he had been conducting a thorough search across the entire Chaos City. The city contained a vast number of unoccupied cultivation dwellings, many of whose terraces bore countless inscriptions left by cultivators recording their insights during moments of enlightenment.

Luo Feng was not alone in his search. Others like Prince Wuka of Makhan Star, Longyun who had entered the Primordial Secret Region, and others from the Tai Chu Region such as Qianshui and Ronjun, were also scouring these inscriptions.

This group of young prodigies understood clearly that their thirty years in the Chaos City would be foundational to their cultivation journey. The fastest way to improve was not merely through relentless training. As the saying went, “Sharpening the axe does not delay the cutting of firewood.” Choosing the right approach was crucial, and there was no need to begin by directly observing the cosmic laws.

Thus, all of them searched for the recorded insights of past cultivators.

“Out of the 112 terrace inscriptions, all are quite inspiring,” Luo Feng frowned. “Which one should I choose?”

The nine images of the Nine Heavens Chaos Stele were profound and unfathomable.

The recorded insights of other cultivators were like “detailed explanations,” making it easier for junior cultivators like Luo Feng to comprehend them effectively.

“Luofeng,” a crisp voice called out.

Luo Feng turned his head.

A woman with slightly curly, flowing green hair and mysterious green patterns on her face, looking as if she were made of water, landed gracefully on the terrace. Smiling gently, she asked, “Luo Feng, have you found an inscription suitable for you?”

“Not yet. I’ve found 112 insights that all seem good, but I can’t decide which one to choose,” Luo Feng shook his head. “Qianshui, how are you doing?”

Qianshui was one of the genius siblings from the Augustus Planet, also a member of the Tai Chu Region.

“I’m still hesitating too. Under my teacher’s recommendation, I now have three choices,” Qianshui smiled. “Oh, I won’t talk more. My teacher watched your video of passing the Celestial Bridge. He said you’re the second best in Origin Law comprehension among this group, next only to Bolan, even surpassing Ronjun in law comprehension.”

“Oh?” Luo Feng raised his eyebrows.

“Keep going! Being ahead now doesn’t mean you’ll stay ahead. These thirty years will bring the most change,” Qianshui then flew up, “I’m off.” A faint green figure flew into the distance and vanished into the chaotic currents.

Luo Feng’s brow furrowed slightly.

“You lot of a thousand geniuses have many with notable backgrounds, each backed by powerful mentors,” Babata said. “Unfortunately… I can’t help you.”

“No problem,” Luo Feng smiled indifferently.

Suddenly, Babata exclaimed in surprise, “Luo Feng, you’ve received an email, sent internally through the Virtual Universe Company.”

“Oh?” Luo Feng was startled and immediately directed a portion of his consciousness into the Virtual Universe Network.

…

Inside the Virtual Universe Network, in Luo Feng’s mansion within the Tai Chu Region.

In the study, Luo Feng sat at his desk, reading an email opened on his laptop.

“Luo Feng:

I watched your video of crossing the Celestial Bridge. It was impressive, but you’re too rigid in using the Yanshen Weapon.

Weapons are lifeless; people are alive. How you utilize the Yanshen Weapon should be to maximize its potential. Since you’ve just begun studying the Nine Heavens Chaos Stele, I recommend you purchase the combat technique ‘Flying Blood’ for 800 points. After acquiring ‘Flying Blood,’ go to the terrace of dwelling number 0290028981. There, you’ll find an inscription left by the creator of ‘Flying Blood.’ This is considered the most suitable technique for studying the first three images of the Nine Heavens Chaos Stele in our Nine Heavens School. Work hard—I’m rooting for you!

Zhenyan”

A simple email, yet it was extraordinary because it was sent internally through the Virtual Universe Company.

As a core member of the company, most people didn’t know his network ID. To track it down and send an email through the company’s internal network meant the sender was clearly a high-ranking figure within the Virtual Universe Company.

“Zhenyan?” Luo Feng sat at his desk, puzzled. “Who is he?”

“I don’t know either,” Babata looked equally confused.

“Check information on ‘Flying Blood’ and ‘Zhenyan’ for me, Babata,” Luo Feng ordered. Different ranks meant different access levels. Ordinary users could only see filtered, common information on the Virtual Universe Network, while classified data—such as information on the insect race or mechanical race—was completely inaccessible.

But Luo Feng’s current high status meant he had much higher clearance.

“Understood,” Babata said excitedly.

The screen of the laptop rapidly changed pages, displaying a flood of information.

“These are all about ‘Zhenyan’,” Babata called out.

“Really?”

Luo Feng stared at the screen. There was a lot of information, and he was startled. “The ‘Zhenyan Secret Technique’ was created by Zhenyan King. It’s sold internally by the Virtual Universe Company for a staggering 800,000 points. Wow, your estimation of ‘Soul Seal’ was only around 10,000 points. How can the ‘Zhenyan Secret Technique’ be so expensive?”

“Zhenyan King?” Babata was shocked. “This Zhenyan has actually become a King?”

“What’s wrong?” Luo Feng asked, puzzled.

“Luo Feng,” Babata said excitedly, “you don’t know. Even among Immortals, there’s a huge difference in strength and status. An ordinary Immortal can become a General, commanding a vast army of cosmic warriors. Some of the strongest Immortals might be granted the title of Marquis by the Virtual Universe Company or the Axe Fighting Arena!”

“An Immortal who becomes a Marquis is considered an elite among Immortals. Your teacher barely qualifies for that title.”

“And among the peak of Immortals, those who surpass even that level are usually granted the title of King. That’s terrifying. The fact that ‘Zhenyan Secret Technique’ sells for 800,000 points means that Zhenyan King must be among the top Immortals closest to the Cosmic Sovereign. These beings are incredibly powerful!” Babata said, visibly excited.

“Oh?” Luo Feng understood.

General… Marquis… King…

These titles reflected strength to a certain degree.

“Babata, how strong was the enemy who killed my teacher?” Luo Feng asked urgently. Babata, who had been excited moments ago, froze. His crimson eyes dimmed slightly before he slowly replied, “The enemy who killed your teacher was very strong. Your teacher barely had the strength to qualify as a Marquis, while that enemy was likely at the peak of Marquis or even on the verge of becoming a King.”

Luo Feng was shocked.

His teacher, who barely qualified as a Marquis, had been defeated by someone who was nearly strong enough to become a King.

That explained why his teacher had suffered such a crushing defeat.

“Such a being would rank among the top three in the Qianwu Cosmic Nation,” Babata said gravely.

“Huh?” Luo Feng was surprised. “The Qianwu Cosmic Nation has over ten thousand Immortals.”

“Among the 1008 Cosmic Nations, those who become Kings are extremely rare. They are all mighty beings, usually not inclined to remain tied to any single Cosmic Nation. Most of these Kings serve under one of the Five Great Powers or operate independently,” Babata said solemnly. “Each of them is incredibly powerful, among those closest to the Cosmic Sovereign!”

“A secret technique selling for 800,000 points—’Zhenyan King’ must be among the very top even among Kings,” Babata continued. “I once saw a secret technique created by a Cosmic Sovereign in the treasure vault, and it only sold for 1,000,000 points.”

A technique created by a Cosmic Sovereign sold for 1,000,000 points.

A technique created by Zhenyan King sold for 800,000 points.

This clearly showed how terrifying Zhenyan King must be.

“Haha…” Luo Feng laughed. “Babata, you were just saying that others have powerful mentors and backgrounds. I don’t have any major mentors or powerful figures behind me, but I still managed to attract someone to guide me. Haha…” In his heart, Luo Feng felt immense gratitude toward the mysterious, supreme being known as Zhenyan King.

To Zhenyan King, this email was merely a casual gesture of guidance.

But for Luo Feng, it was an enormous help during the foundational stage of his cultivation.

“Have you found information on ‘Flying Blood’?” Luo Feng asked.

“I have.”

The screen displayed a wealth of information about ‘Flying Blood.’

Compared to the vague and unclear information about Zhenyan King, the details about ‘Flying Blood’ were much more thorough. Clearly, Zhenyan King’s information was highly classified, and Luo Feng’s clearance only allowed him to access the most basic details.

“‘Flying Blood’ was created by Lian Luo, who ranked first in the universe-wide Genius Competition and was selected into the Primordial Secret Region. He chose the Nine Heavens Chaos Stele and, after thousands of years of cultivation, created ‘Flying Blood,’ arguably the most outstanding foundational secret technique among those based on the Nine Heavens Chaos Stele. After becoming an Immortal, he was immediately granted the title of ‘Blood Robe Marquis,’ but he perished during a cosmic secret region expedition.”

Luo Feng read carefully.

The information also detailed many of Lian Luo’s achievements. He had been the top-ranked genius in the competition, an extraordinary prodigy who was granted the title of Marquis immediately upon becoming an Immortal. Unfortunately, he died before living 100,000 years, far too young.

“What a pity,” Luo Feng shook his head.

“If he hadn’t died so early, his future would have been limitless,” Babata also sighed.

“Floating Blood” was a foundational secret technique meant for those below the Immortal level, so its price wasn’t high.

But a low price didn’t mean it was inferior.

Luo Feng needed foundational techniques, and “Flying Blood,” recommended by Zhenyan King, was clearly no ordinary method.

“800 points—I’m just short of 800 points,” Luo Feng said with a wry smile. “I regret spending that 10,000 points so freely before. I spent it all.”

“Who told you to spend it so quickly?” Babata muttered.

“Weren’t you the one encouraging me?” Luo Feng glanced at Babata on his shoulder. “Never mind. I’ll go to dwelling number 0290028981 first and see the recorded insights left by the genius of billions of years ago, Lian Luo.” After reading about Lian Luo’s life, Luo Feng couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration and regret.

He died far too soon.

Living less than 100,000 years was extremely short even by Immortal standards.

…

Inside the Chaos City.

Luo Feng immediately transformed into a blur, swiftly soaring into the sky, searching for the cultivation dwelling once inhabited by Lian Luo billions of years ago.